It’s always great to be on a winning team. It’s even better when you’re a consistently winning team. As I reflect back on the year, 2017 is part of a new Golden Age for us at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy. With countless accolades, our School of Pharmacy community continues to be truly outstanding. And the country agrees.  

Among our faculty

As one of the most prestigious scientific bodies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), has elected Jeanette Roberts, professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division and former dean, as an AAAS Fellow. Roberts has the distinction of being the fifth School of Pharmacy faculty member to be named an AAAS Fellow in the pharmaceutical sciences section, joining George Zografi, Kenneth Connors, Charles Sih, and Joseph Robinson.

In another significant national honor, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) awarded the 2017 Rufus A. Lyman Award for the best paper to Associate Professors Casey Gallimore, Andrea Porter, and Susanne Barnett in the Pharmacy Practice Division. This award represents the highest level of scholarly research that advances pharmacy education. It’s the second time that the SoP has been recognized with the Lyman Award. Assistant Professor Joe Zorek won in 2014.

In the area of advancing journal scholarship, both Professor Betty Chewning and Associate Professor Michelle Chui in the Social & Administrative Sciences Division were named Top Reviewers for the Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (RSAP) Journal. In the Pharmacy Practice Division, Professor Mary Hayney received the 2017 Curtis A. Johnson Award for her contributions to The Journal of the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin.

We also saw greater reach through our leadership. For example, Robert Thorne, assistant professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, was selected as president-elect of the International Brain Barriers Society (IBBS), a premier central nervous system (CNS) society. Also this year, Denise Walbrandt Pigarelli, associate professor in the Pharmacy Practice Division, was elected vice chairman of the Wisconsin Diabetes Advisory Group.

More national recognition came from Secretary of Veteran Affairs, David J. Shulkin, for innovative COPD transitions of care work at the VA Hospital in Madison by Ed Portillo, assistant faculty associate in the Pharmacy Practice Division. His work was included in a Veteran Affairs book of top initiatives with plans for a national rollout, a great expression of the Wisconsin Idea. 

On the UW campus, Richard Hsung, professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, was selected as one of the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professors for 2017. This professorship honors extraordinary UW faculty for scholarship, teaching, and service. Professor Jeff Johnson earned this in 2016, and Professor Lingjun Li in 2015.

Also noteworthy is Andrea Porter, associate professor in the Pharmacy Practice Division, who was inducted as a 2017 UW Teaching Academy Fellow. Associate Professor Susanne Barnett received this honor in 2015.

Among our students

I’m proud that our School attracts the best and brightest students. Their talent has been recognized nationally, and the applause has been deafening.

• Gretchen Greene, a former student researcher in the laboratory of Robert Thorne, assistant professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, was chosen internationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship.
• Mary Jo Knobloch, a doctoral candidate working under the guidance of Betty Chewning, professor in the Social & Administrative Sciences Division, received the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Graduate Student Award.
• Tony Tam, Ph.D. student working with Glen Kwon, professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, received the American Association of Indian Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAiPS) Graduate Award. This marks back-to-back wins for the SoP.
• PharmD students Matt Huppert and Kinsey Clark won the Generation Rx Region 4 award from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) for their outstanding community outreach on prescription misuse.
• Here at UW, Sarah Neuman, doctoral student working with Associate Professor Arash Bashirullah in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, won a 2017 Discovery Challenge Award from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Once again, SoP took this award last year as well.
• Pharm-Tox students Sam Boroumand, Julia Chini, and Aaron Rottier were recipients of the 2017 UW Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship, which supports student researchers. Their collaborating faculty members are Robert Thorne and Warren Rose, associate professor in the Pharmacy Practice Division.

Among our alumni

Our SoP alumni are health care leaders who embody the Wisconsin Idea of service and contribution. It’s no wonder that a SoP preceptor was named Master Preceptor by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) for two years in a row. Jeffrey Fish (B.S. ’91) was recognized this year, and William Peppard took the honor in 2016.

The AACP also honored another SoP alum, Palmer Taylor (B.S. ’60, Ph.D. ’65), with the 2017 AACP Volwiler Research Achievement Award.

At the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) Awards, it was Badger domination with Scott Larson (B.S. ’96) as Pharmacist of the Year, Steve Rough (BS ’91, MS ’94) for Distinguished Service, Erica Guetzlaff (PharmD ’07) for Excellence in Innovation, and Teresa Romano (PharmD ’17) with the Student Achievement Award.

Here on campus, four alumni leaders were awarded with the 2017 Citation of Merit. Yusuf Abul-Hajj (Ph.D. ’68), Ray Skwierczynski (M.S. ’89, Ph.D. ’92), Franklin (Rocky) La Dien (B.S. ’77), and Robert Sowinski (B.S. ’75) were celebrated for their significant contributions to pharmacy practice and the pharmaceutical sciences.

Even more accomplishments

And these were just the highlights of what the School of Pharmacy community achieved in 2017.

Let’s also celebrate the 10 National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grants earned this year by Professors Lingjun Li, Glen Kwon, Weiping Tang; Associate Professors Arash Bashirullah, Tim Bugni, Lara Collier, Warren Rose; Assistant Professor Jiaoyang Jiang with two R01 awards; and Emeritus Professor Richard Peterson.

Additionally, the team at the Division of Pharmacy Professional Development (DPPD) has done great work in demonstrating innovation and leadership in pharmacy continuing education. Erik Burns, assistant professor and assistant dean in DPPD, and Eric Buxton, DPPD associate professor, drove significant growth in attendance of the Land O’Lakes Conference series through an aggressive content redesign. Also, Burns and Ruth Bruskiewitz, professor in DPPD, partnered with UW–Madison School of Nursing and School of Medicine and Public Health to earn joint accreditation status for DPPD to provide continuing education for the health care team. Lastly, Burns and Brett Kelly, assistant professor in DPPD, have forged critical partnerships for new programs in medical affairs and managed markets to address the needs of industry.

There’s so much to be proud of at the School of Pharmacy. What an amazing year! Let’s keep the momentum going and continue to show the world the enormously talented people we have here at one of the best pharmacy schools.

On, Wisconsin!

Steven M. Swanson
Dean